I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 756 Great Treasure

As of 1923, the main oil exporting countries were Russia and the United States. The rest, such as Venezuela, Persia, and Romania, were either controlled by British and American capital or had not yet been formally developed.

As early as 1886, the first oil field was discovered in East India, but due to the limited strength of the Dutch, the oil field was not developed on a large scale.

After the Russians came to East India, the oil industry in East India developed rapidly. Now there are not only refineries and pipelines, but also dedicated transportation terminals.

Alexander's coronation ceremony will be held on January 1 next year. Although he has not officially become the king of the Grand Principality of Yuriev, Alexander has already begun to handle government affairs.

After the fall of the Russian Empire, a large number of Russian nobles came to East India, and last year the population of East India officially exceeded 500 million.

This statistic does not include the local indigenous people of East India and foreign workers from Korea and Japan.

During De Young's reign, the economy of East India developed rapidly and has now become the only industrial country in East Asia.

When he was in Constantinople, Alexander only knew that canned fruits and canned fish from the East Indies were good, and he didn't know much about other things.

On the way to East India, Alexander studied some information about East India and finally had a general understanding of East India.

The current economic situation of East India is mainly based on exports, and the main export commodities are natural rubber, palm oil, tin ore, etc.

The main export destination for East India was Russia.

After the establishment of the Free Trade Organization in Constantinople, East India was the first to join under the name of the Grand Principality of Yuriev. Export products were further enriched, and various tropical specialty products such as fruits, aquatic products, coffee, cocoa, etc. were very popular in the member countries of the Free Trade Organization.

The interruption of the Suez Canal had a huge impact on the trade with East India. Previously, goods from East India could reach Europe smoothly through the Suez Canal, but now they either have to go around Africa or transit through Russia.

Alexander decided to focus on further processing of the product.

The money earned from exporting natural rubber is definitely not as much as that earned from exporting tires.

If tin ore could be processed into tin ingots locally in the East Indies, not only would more profits remain in the East Indies, but it would also create jobs and increase the overall income of East Indians.

Other fast-moving consumer goods such as canned food and coffee can have their prices doubled as long as they are labeled "Yuriev".

oil--

Although the oil production in East India is not high, every bit of oil is still worth it, and Alexander did not despise it.

Alexander still has another trump card in his hand, which is Australia's iron ore.

If you want to develop industry, you cannot do without iron ore.

Although there are iron ore in East India, the grade is not high, it is difficult to mine, and the reserves are not large.

George was impressed by Australia's iron ore. As long as Alexander could control Australia's iron ore, East India would have a chance to be on the table.

Many tragedies in this world are caused by lack of money.

The same is true for countries.

Alexander was still very satisfied with the current situation in East India.

More satisfied with Dejan.

After the end of the World War, it took De Young three full years to wipe out the resistance forces in various parts of East India.

In this process, East India not only completed the actual control of various places, but also built a navy with excellent combat effectiveness.

And a Marine Corps with powerful combat capabilities.

East India was equipped with amphibious tanks earlier than the Amur Military District.

"Although our navy does not have battleships, it has 12 cruisers, 40 destroyers, and 20 submarines. In this sea area, we are the invincible fleet in Asia."

De Young had confidence in the navy of the East Indies.

"If the Navy wants battleships, I can think of a way—"

Although Alexander was not interested in battleships, he would satisfy them if the navy proposed them.

Even a new official needs three tricks to take office. The most important thing for Alexander now is not to concentrate power in his hands, but to consolidate his regime and establish prestige.

The advantage of the Grand Duchy is that not only can you get promoted and make money, but you can also be granted a title and bring honor to your family.

During the Russian Empire, Dejan was awarded the title of baron because of his relationship with George.

The baronship was not a good match for Dejan's power, so Alexander prepared the position of the first Earl of New Guinea for Dejan.

The earl also has a fiefdom. Conferring the title of Earl of New Guinea on Dejan did not mean that the entire New Guinea was given to Dejan, but only a part of the New Guinea Island, covering an area of ​​about 100 square kilometers.

Along with Dejan, others who were conferred the title of count included Ivanov, Antonov, Kanunikov, Marko, Musayev and others.

Kanunikov was awarded the title posthumously; he had died during the World War.

"Battleships are too expensive for us—"

Dejan was calm and practical from the East Indies.

"——We should buy more transport planes and build more transport ships."

Dejan's positioning is very accurate. Compared with countries like Russia, the Grand Duchy of Yuriev is just a runner. The advantage of the free trade organization is that each member country can take what it needs. Each member country can choose some roles according to its own national strength. Only Russia is qualified to be large and comprehensive.

If the East Indies grow crops, even if they can harvest them three times a year, they cannot compete with countries that only harvest one crop a year.

When it comes to food, taking rice as an example, the longer the growing cycle, the better the taste. It has a lot to do with the region. Even if you take Wuchang rice to East India, it won’t taste like Wuchang rice.

The staple food of Russians is potatoes and bread, while in East India, it is various tropical fruits and aquatic products. Although rice also has a market, the demand is not high.

In this way, East India only needs to grow sugarcane to produce sugar, and then use the sugar to exchange for rice, thus giving full play to the advantages of each member country.

Of course, although the rice from East India does not taste good, we cannot not grow it at all. Even if all the rice grown is exported, we must ensure food security.

“Why buy? We should produce it ourselves.”

Influenced by George, Alexander was able to be self-sufficient and never asked for help from others.

Not even Russia.

"Victor won't be happy—"

Dejan was very happy and that is why he wanted Alexander to come to East India and be the king.

East India is dependent on Russia. Although it has not been discriminated against by Russia, it always feels like being dependent on others. When East India companies compete with Russian companies, they are inevitably lacking in confidence.

With Alexander as king, East India companies could be on equal terms when dealing with Russian companies.

Victor is also George's cousin and general manager of Yuriev Airlines.

"If he has any objections, let him come to me."

Alexander supports Dejan, and there is development only when there is competition.

Why was Russia's oil exports so tepid during the imperial era?
One reason is the monopoly and lack of motivation.

Another reason is that the demand for oil in various markets is insufficient and the Russians are not very good at doing business. Shell, one of the Seven Sisters, started out by selling and transporting Baku's oil.

Although Yuriev Airlines is a unique company in Russia, its technological lead in the industry has begun to decline compared to the world war period. It is time to stimulate companies like Amur.

After George acquired Amur, in order not to arouse hostility from St. Petersburg, he chose emerging markets as much as possible and did not compete with his uncles and brothers for food.

After the end of World War II, Britain, France, the United States and Italy all established airlines and increased their research on aviation technology. If Russia does not take action, the first-mover advantage it has finally gained will soon fall behind.

The situation in East India is very different from that in Russia. Russia is a land power and can effectively connect the entire country with the help of railways.

East India is a country of thousands of islands. Although it has the third largest number of islands in the world, the most efficient means of transportation are still airplanes and merchant ships.

The day after Alexander arrived in East India, a storm hit Borneo and Semporna suffered heavy losses.

"If there is anything bad here, it is that there are too many geological disasters."

Dejan is used to ordering disaster relief immediately.

"What kind of wind could be so severe?"

It was the first time that Alexander knew that a house could be blown away by the wind.

East India is not only vulnerable to tropical storms, but also prone to earthquakes due to its location at the junction of plates and active geological activity.

There are more than 400 volcanoes in East India. Due to the abundant rainfall, geohazards such as floods and mudslides are also prone to occur.

Alexander finally understood why the East Indies, despite its rich resources, pleasant climate and beautiful scenery, could not retain the Russians.

“Since wooden houses can be easily blown away, we try to build houses with reinforced concrete.”

Alexander did not believe in evil and believed that infrastructure was the magic weapon for economic development.

Russia's post-war reconstruction began with infrastructure construction.

Compared with Russia, conditions in East India are better.

When Russia was rebuilding, it had to hire foreign workers from Korea and Germany to make up for the loss of human resources caused by the world war.

Although the total population of East India is only 500 million, the region where it is located is the most human resource-rich region in the world, and the labor cost is incredibly low.

Compared to the Dutch rule, the infrastructure in the East Indies has greatly improved. More than 2 percent of households in Coconut City have access to electricity, and there are 42 cities with a population of more than in the East Indies.

These cities are basically all ports.

"The population is still too small. If we can have 5000 million people, we will become the overlord of this sea area."

Dejan felt a little regretful, this matter could not be rushed.

Alexander cared more about quality than population quantity.

What is lacking in quantity can be made up for in quality. The efficiency of one engineering machine can exceed that of 100 workers. The improvement in the level of automation will greatly reduce the dependence of industrial production on workers.

Of course, no matter what time the population is, the more the better.

(End of this chapter)